Hi folks
Just an aside as I launch into the third of what will be thirty of these challenge writing prompts:
I am aware of (at least some of) what is going on out there in the world.
And in a global context, something small like this exercise we’re all going through may seem at times self-indulgent or a strategy of ignoring the circumstances around you.
And I myself can sometimes use that as yet another excuse not to write.
Don’t fall into that trap.
You are creating, and also you’re creating in community with others, even though you don’t actually see them doing the same thing you’re doing.
Every day this month, 110 other playwrights are also sitting down to take a little time to write something, just as you are.
You can use your writing to engage with your questions and concerns about the world (I do),
or you can use your writing to escape all that for a little bit (which I also do),
or you can use what seems like escapist fare to ultimately engage with the world around you after all (and again, something I do).
How you engage with your writing, and the world, is up to you.
Just write something.
In gathering writing inspiration of all kinds as I do throughout the year now, getting ready for each November has become a daily exercise for me in being more aware in general of the details of life and my surroundings, I came across some words of encouragement for artists in times like these, when we doubt our “usefulness” or the point of creating, from a visual artist named Erica Elan
I’m going to share short quotes of hers at the front of each post for a few days, just to help us all (myself included) get in the head space of prioritizing our writing, even if it’s just for a few pages a day each day.
Today’s quotes:
If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is humanizing because it rewires the brain towards empathy - activating mirror neurons that help us feel what others feel.
Please keep making art because…;
Music, metaphor, symbols, imagery, stories and poetry give shape to liberation movements.
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Now, I’ve only just started going through the first wave of submissions, but some common questions are emerging over the last couple of days. Here’s a couple, with answers I figured everyone could use…
MOST COMMON QUESTION SO FAR:
“How do I know if you received the pages I submitted?”
Everyone who submits pages through the Google form should receive an automatic reply from the Google form, sending you a copy of what you just submitted, in terms of how you filled out the form, what you uploaded or entered, etc.
But as an example, Gmail in recent years has taken to curating all our email inboxes for us. So you’re not seeing all your email messages a lot of the time.
In the left hand menu of a Gmail account, there’s an option of the word “More” with a downward arrow next to it.
Click on that and you’ll see a host of additional options for your Gmail inbox, including one saying “All Mail”
When you click on “All Mail,” then you’ll actually see all the email you received.
And if the Google form response isn’t in your curated inbox, it should be visible in your “All Mail” inbox.
Also, there’s always the ever reliable Spam Folder to give a look into as well.
I don’t understand why Gmail would curate out a response from a Google form, since they’re the same company, but weirder things have happened, I guess.
If you poke around your email account and still don’t see a reply from the Google form after you submit pages, let us know about the technical hiccup and we’ll check into it. Everyone should be getting that automatic response acknowledging your submission for the day.
SECOND MOST COMMON QUESTION SO FAR
“Is this Google form link the same one we’re going to use every day?”
Yes, but you don’t have to worry about keeping track of it.
I will send out that link with every day’s challenge.
That’s part of the reason one of the required fields is “Which challenge number are you submitting for?” because it’s the same form, and other than the date and time things were received, we don’t have a way of sorting what each person’s turning in on each day. Some turn things in way ahead of time, some work right up to the last minute before they hit that submit button.
Same form for everyone, so it all dumps into the same “Challenge Only” Google driver, separate from the other ones the theater uses for script submissions. Currently I’m the only one with access to it, in order to double check and track submissions.
So yes, that link will just keep on appearing, and you all can just keep on using it.
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Public service announcement:
VOTING
If you haven’t already voted, please do.
Vote early if you have the option.
And if it’s long lines on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th or nothing, then we do have deadline amnesty for whenever you vote, be it that day or the days prior.
We don’t want writing to get in the way of voting, or vice versa.
Just make a note in the comments section at the bottom of the Google form - voting today, need that election amnesty you were talking about for this slightly delayed submission - and that’ll be enough.
If you’re looking for information on how and where to vote, your Secretary of State’s website is a good resource - Minnesota, here’s yours: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/
If you want to work off some nervous energy, volunteer opportunities can be found here, among other places: https://votesaveamerica.com/
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Wow, I really appreciated that extra hour of sleep due to the Daylight Savings Time switch in the middle of the night. Now, back to work…
The first collections of electronic pages are already coming in.
So exciting to see you all so productive.
Hope you're having fun.
Let’s get you the next writing prompt…
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Challenge #3 - Closing Time, a Rivalry, and a Car Accident
Write Monday, November 3rd - or earlier if you like
Due: Tuesday, November 4th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
For this one, we have a series of suggestions from Threshold Theater company member (and costume designer) Aella Rose Hill
They offered up a trio of scenarios and I figured one (or more) of them could prompt any number of ideas for you. They are:
“The closing shift at a diner ends with a few surprises”
(Which could conjure up anything from the movie or TV version of “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” to the movie or musical version of “Waitress” to either version of the cheesy sci-fi TV show “Roswell” [the newer version being the gayer one, both versions of which I was obsessed with].)
“A decades long friendly rivalry soon becomes a little more complicated... “
Popular culture of all forms is littered with variations on this theme - what’s your favorite?
Now write your own version.
“A minor (mostly harmless) car accident, followed by a meet-cute”
(And by meet-cute, I don’t mean the movie Crash from 2005 (sorry, Brokeback Mountain),
or the other, older (Cronenberg) movie Crash, god forbid (NSFW, and not cute.)
Create a more wholesome, less problematic car crash - unless you’re into the other kind, of course.)
Totally up to you.
Go with whichever of those three potential scenarios strikes your fancy.
Mix and match, too, if that intrigues you.
Just write.
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can
try 2021’s challenge #3: Start With A Title
Or try 2022’s challenge #3: Clown Family
Or try 2023’s challenge #2: Place Names for People
Or try 2024’s challenge #3: Nazi Dildo Lady
Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)
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How to submit your work for Challenge #3
We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form,
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header
but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.
After you enter the required fields of
email,
name,
challenge number (for today, that’d be 3 :)
and page count,
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:
Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.
OR
Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.
OR
Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form
OR
Type directly into the Google form.
(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)
Write Monday, November 3rd - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Tuesday, November 4th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
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And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:
Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)
Deadline Amnesty for Voting (and other handy challenge tips) - 2025 edition
Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play
Don’t Stress About Format
Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
No. Really. I Mean It. Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)
Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”
Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day
Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition
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And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.
We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days. No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)
Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Tuesday to write if you need it. When you’re done, you’re done.
Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)
Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later.
You have 27 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want.
Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.
It just needs to be something.
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And that something can be:
Lights up.
A waitress is cleaning up a small diner at closing time.
It’s been a busy night, but she’s nearly done with mopping up after all those customers.
It’s almost time to go home.
Then a car crashes through the front door.
The weary waitress turns around to see the new mess.
WAITRESS
I don’t know who you are, but I am not cleaning this up.
The driver’s side door of the car creaks open.
A sheepish driver emerges.
DRIVER
Sorry.
WAITRESS
Oh. You. I should have known it would be you.
Lights down.
The End
That’s always your escape hatch, every day.
That’s your base line.
Build on it.
Have fun.
Don’t stress.
Make an impulsive decision and run with it.
Breathe.
You’ve got the day.
Just write.
(After you vote, of course :)
And take good care of yourselves, and each other.
Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)
